With less than a week to go until the 2018 Insight Forum at Picturehouse Central, the British Association for Screen Entertainment has today revealed that this year’s special guest will be the incomparable Mark Gatiss, who will be joining Johnny Fewings on stage for an exclusive chat.

An acclaimed actor, writer, producer and director, Gatiss exploded onto the entertainment scene in 1997 when, alongside his fellow League of Gentlemen, he won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before bringing the dark comedy of Royston Vasey to TV screens in 1999 and the silver screen in 2005 with Universal Pictures’ The League Of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse.

Since then Gatiss has gone on to both appear in and contribute to some of the biggest entertainment properties in the world, including taking actor, writer and producer credits with the BBC’s global hit Sherlock. His longstanding relationship with perennial family favourite Doctor Who pre-dates the show’s successful resurrection in 2005 (Gatiss has been involved in shorts, spoofs and spin-offs since as far back as 1994), although since then he has not only appeared in and written multiple episodes, but also produced and written 2013’s love letter to the show, An Adventure In Time And Space. Rounding out a trio of big hitters, Gatiss also has a recurring role in the international behemoth that is HBO’s Game Of Thrones.

Gatiss has also appeared in a veritable who’s who of acclaimed TV and film productions, including Nighty Night, Starter For 10, Boy George biopic, Worried About The Boy, Wolf Hall, London Spy, Taboo and Gunpowder, with recent and forthcoming theatrical hits including StudioCanal’s The Mercy and Disney’s Christopher Robin.

According to Official Charts Company data, since 2000, Gatiss has featured on more than seven million units sold across TV and film and is part of four franchises (League Of Gentlemen, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game Of Thrones) that have each sold more than one million copies. Perhaps even more impressively, in 2017 six per cent of all TV consumer spend was on a DVD or Blu-ray featuring Gatiss.

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event, starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will bring together up to 300 people from across the industry.

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that Will Worsdell, Controller of Media and Marketing at ITV and co-founder of The Park will be joining the line-up at the BASE Insight Forum, taking place next Wednesday 14th March at Picturehouse Central, London.

With over 15 years’ experience of working agency and client side in the UK and Australia, Worsdell has formed award winning brand partnerships, taken the strategic lead on a range of blue chip brands and launched a TV channel to become the most watched of its type in the UK. During his time at ITV, he has helped to launch the ITV Hub, rebrand ITV2 and drive a fresh approach to their experiential marketing.

During his session, Worsdell will be telling the story of how 2017 became the year for ITV2 and its engagement with the youth audience. Specifically talking about the channels, techniques and insights used to grow Love Island’s audience exponentially, which led to establish ITV2 as the top channel for youth audiences in the UK.

Speaking on the event, Worsdell said: “With the focus of this year’s BASE Insight Forum being the young shopper, it is a great platform to be able to highlight how we’ve been adapting our approach to really appeal to young audiences. I will be using my session to talk about what it was about the show, Love Island, the popular culture and media interaction around it that led to the creation of a youth culture phenomenon.”

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event; starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will bring together up to 300 people from across the industry.

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that Mark Earls, Founder of HERD, has joined the line-up for the 2018 BASE Insight Forum which takes place at Picturehouse Central on March 14th.

Award-winning writer and thought-leader, Earls is the author of a number of highly influential books and articles such as ‘HERD’ and ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’. He is also a Fellow of the Marketing Society and of the Royal Society of Arts as well as an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.

During his session, Earls will be drawing on his work in the field of emerging social models of behaviour, naturally tying into this year’s event and its focus on understanding and addressing the changing habits of the young shopper. His ability to apply behavioural science insight to the challenges facing modern businesses promises to deliver an engaging session built around one of his most influential publications, ‘Copy, Copy, Copy’.

Earls commented: “The BASE Insight Forum provides an engaging springboard for marketing innovation and new thinking, and I want to underline the value and opportunity to be found in other people’s smarts. As I have done in ‘Copy, Copy, Copy’, I intend to use the Forum to showcase how looking at solutions outside of the category can deliver better ways of engaging with the young shopper inside the screen entertainment category.”

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event, starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will look to build upon the 300 people from 75 different businesses who attended the event last year.

Having already confirmed a focus on the younger shopper at this year’s Insight Forum, the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that members of its newly formed Breakthrough Group will be debating how the industry can remain engaged with and relevant to younger audiences as part of a panel discussion at the event.

Initiated by BASE at the end of 2017, the Breakthrough Group’s remit is to bring together newer voices in the industry and to provide them with a platform from which their views can be heard. The panel discussion will draw on that ethos and will ask how this perspective can be applied to the younger shopper in the context of some colleagues often being closer to the audience we’re trying to reach.

Moderated by Non-Executive Director and leadership coach, Monica Chadha, the panel will include Amy Nightingale, Akinyi Gardiner, Chris Foxwell, Christopher Pratt, Jessica Briggs, and Zohreh Shahribaf. With a broad spread of BASE members embracing the aims of the Breakthrough Group and the panel, the intention is that the discussion not only sparks innovative thought but also serves as a platform to empower other newer category colleagues to share valuable opinion on the day and once back at the office.

Liz Bales, Chief Executive at BASE, said: “The focus of this year’s Insight Forum is the younger shopper and how we can ensure the category remains relevant to them so, with the Breakthrough Group developing, it feels like the perfect chance to listen to those within the industry who fall into that bracket.”

She added: “We’re inspired by the energy many of our younger members have demonstrated in taking the opportunity to project their voices, and so we look forward to a panel session that can deliver a fresh perspective and potentially challenge some prevailing opinions as to what the future may hold and how we might embrace it.”

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event, starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will bring together up to 300 people from across the industry.

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that Cornelia Calugar-Pop, Lead TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) Researcher at Deloitte, will be joining the line-up at the 2018 BASE Insight Forum taking place at Picturehouse Central on March 14th.

During her session at the Forum, Cornelia will be bringing insight from Deloitte’s annual TMT Predictions report, which identifies key industry developments that are likely to have a significant impact on business. She will be focusing on the three key topics of: the future of the smartphone, live broadcast & events and the momentum behind subscription services, whilst highlighting how each of these areas are applicable to the Forum’s focus demographic of the young shopper.

Calugar-Pop is responsible for managing Deloitte’s Global Mobile Consumer Survey, a multi-country consumer survey on usage of mobile devices and services. She is also responsible for the publication of thought-leadership reports, whilst contributing to a variety of projects covering end-user demand for digital services and vendors’ go-to-market strategies.

Speaking on the event, Calugar-Pop commented: “The BASE Insight Forum is a great platform for bringing together innovative and diverse stakeholders from all aspects of the category, and so it’s a brilliant opportunity to highlight the many factors that may impact the young shopper’s interaction with film & TV delivery, such as smartphones and social media. We have found that a number of our predictions are particularly pertinent to the young shopper, and the way they interact with the category, so it is important that distributors, digital platforms, broadcasters and service providers react to the changing consumer habits, insight into which we will be sharing with delegates on the day.”

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event, starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will bring together over 300 people from 75 different businesses on the day.

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that Justin Sampson, Chief Executive of BARB and James Brown, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel will be speaking at the 2018 BASE Insight Forum taking place on March 14th in central London.

This year’s focus will be the young shopper (aged 16-34), a core demographic that has powered the category for decades and with whom engagement remains a key focus as shopping habits change.

During his session at the Insight Forum, Justin Sampson,Chief Executive of BARB will be showcasing fresh information which will shine a light on the what, when and how of television viewing by young adults. He will cover off areas including; what content they are watching, which devices they are using to view, whether they are viewing linear programming or watching on-demand and what BARB knows about young adults’ viewing habits across SVoD services.

Speaking on the event, Chief Executive of BARB, Justin Sampson said: “BARB has been dealing with fragmentation for many years and the pace of change has never felt so fast as now. People are watching their favourite TV programmes on tablets, PCs and smartphones, while on-demand services are weakening the attachment viewers have with the linear broadcast schedule; this is particularly true for young audiences. I am pleased to have been invited by BASE to share insight on changes in viewing behaviour.”

Justin was appointed Chief Executive of BARB in 2012. His early experience of media was formed in the radio industry, where he became Managing Director of the Radio Advertising Bureau in 1999. Over the years, he has held roles at a variety of organisations including ITV, AGB Nielsen and Kantar.

Joining the line-up for the 2018 BASE Insight Forum is James Brown, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel. His session will cover an exclusive and in-depth view of what a young shopper looks like today, how they engage with video content across physical & digital markets and how their behaviour has changed in the last few years. Alongside this, James will be showcasing some new insight about the young shoppers wider lifestyle behaviours from telecoms, fashion and alcohol markets, and to understand how this group continues to evolve and what opportunities we can learn from other markets.

James leads the Entertainment & Telecoms client service team at Kantar Worldpanel, working in partnership with clients to understand their business challenges and provide clear insights for them to action.

Speaking about the event, Consumer Insight Director, James Brown said: “As the young shopper is a core demographic for this category and with their shopping habits changing at pace, it is more important than ever before to look into what and how they engage with the category. I am very much looking forward to being part of what is going to be a morning packed with insight that will add great breadth to what we see every day.”

The 2018 BASE Insight Forum, supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is a morning event, starting at 8.30am and wrapping up at 2pm, and will bring together over 300 people from 75 different businesses on the day.

London, 15 February 2018 – The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that it has welcomed High Fliers Films to the fold as a full member. Joining with immediate effect, the Pinewood-based outfit takes its place around the table alongside the full mix of major and independent studios, content providers and suppliers who make up the BASE membership and who collectively represent the vast majority of players in the £2.69 billion video category.

Founded in 1988, the company operates across all screen entertainment platforms including home video, theatrical, VOD, digital and TV. With 2018 marking High Fliers Films thirtieth year in the industry, the company has built an enviable reputation thanks it’s talented in-house team developing a diverse catalogue of mainstream and genre product that features a veritable who’s who of A-list talent including Channing Tatum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Denzel Washington, Nicholas Cage and many more. In 2014 the company also branched out into production, with two highly successful One Direction documentaries marking an exciting new focus.

Speaking about joining BASE, May Monteiro, Managing Director at High Fliers Films said: “I am thrilled to kick off our thirtieth anniversary year by confirming our membership of BASE. The team there is proactively driving a constant chain of invaluable insights, educational initiatives and marketing and communications projects that have made a real difference to the visibility of the category as a whole and now more than ever we have identified the need to be part of that conversation. The ethos of invention, category invigoration and collaboration that defines BASE is one that High Fliers shares so this announcement marks the start of a fantastic future and indeed the next thirty years!”

Liz Bales, Chief Executive at BASE, said: “High Fliers Films are a key independent player and a most welcome addition to the BASE membership. It is testament to our inclusive and collaborative approach that we continue to engage with category stakeholders from across the board and within that context I can’t underplay how thrilled we are to be able to bring the breadth of experience of the High Fliers Films team into that mix.“

The BASE Insight Forum, delivered in partnership with ERA returns to Picturehouse Central on March 14th with its continuing vision to draw together innovative and diverse stakeholders from all aspects of the category.

The focus of this year’s event will be the younger shopper (aged 16-34) a core demographic that has powered the category for decades and with whom category engagement remains key as shopping habits and age-related market share of spend changes.

Talking about this year’s event, Liz Bales, chief executive at BASE, said: “The Insight Forum gives us the chance to gain a greater understanding of the changing habits we are seeing, and to determine and combat any reasons for declining engagement in the younger shopper. It will do so by looking at trends from within the category but also by examining those evolving elsewhere and by applying these learnings to home entertainment.”

As in previous years, the session isn’t just about listening, however. Key to the success of the Insight Forum is the opportunity afforded to all delegates to catch up with their colleagues and to network with new ones, with up to 300 people from 75 different businesses expected to attend on the day.

Speakers will be announced from next week, with registration on the day opening at 8:30am and the forum closing at 2pm. Tickets can be reserved here and are free for BASE and ERA members.

Today the Industry Trust for IP Awareness and the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) have announced the official appointment of Jenny Davis as Communications Manager.

Davis’ key deliverables will include managing regular communications to members across all three organisations to ensure all interested parties are up to date with initiatives, developments and industry news, as well as implementing and driving press offices to maximise media coverage through compelling data driven news stories and thought leadership.

Davis will work alongside the recently appointed Head of Communications & Marketing, Mike Hird and PR & Social Media Executive, Andy Neilson, who will all be working towards implementing all three of the organisation’s future communications plans.

Davis joins the Industry Trust and its sister organisations with more than five years of B2B PR and communications experience, working across a number of sectors including, Health & Safety, technology and most recently the media, marketing and advertising space where she has worked with organisations including Direct Line Group, Superbrands, Rubicon Project and Lippincott.

Speaking on her appointment Davis said: “I am very much looking forward to working with the rest of the newly restructured communications team and being able to bring my B2B PR experience to the mix. I hope to bring a renewed approach and alongside the rest of the team, provide some new and innovative ideas to help further champion the industry.”

Speaking on the new appointment Liz Bales, Chief Executive, the Industry Trust and BASE said: “Jenny is going to be a great addition to the restructured comms and marketing team, with her skillset encompassing a broad base of B2B experience which will provide a perfect counterpoint to the already strong category experience now in place. As well as providing support in what promises to be an incredibly busy year ahead, Jenny will also be bolstering the press office functions across the three organisations and helping us to build presence as our roster of exciting projects come to fruition.”

London. 11 January 2018 – The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that entries for the 2018 BASE Awards are now open, with new awards categories, a refreshed judging line-up and the opportunity for entrants to put forward multiple submissions collectively ringing the changes as the event enters its 38th year.

Taking place at the Tobacco Dock on June 7, 2018, this year’s awards have been tweaked to reflect consumer and category trends whilst continuing to reward those in the industry embracing the need to innovate and take risks. With that in mind, gongs this year will include a brand new Creative Marketing Initiative award that prioritises innovative and exceptional creative success over transactional success. The full roster also features a renewed focus on the contribution made to the category by retailers, with awards including; Physical Retailer of the Year, Online Physical Retailer of the Year, Digital Retailer of the Year, Digital Retailer Innovation of the Year, Physical Retailer Innovation of the Year and In-Store Theatre Initiative of the Year. Further, the Special Interest Award has been expanded in 2018 to incorporate entries from Children’s, Sport, Fitness, Music and Comedy genres.

Awards entries forms, which must be returned to BASE by close of play on Friday, 16th February, are now available to download from the BASE website (http://baseorg.uk/base-awards-2018/), with full submission decks due for receipt by close of play on Friday, 9th March.

Judging is confirmed to take place on Wednesday, 18th April, and this year the BASE team will be welcoming a mix of familiar and new faces to the judge’s table, with broadcaster and cineaste Edith Bowman, ITV Daytime’s Head of Film Nick Rylance and Empire magazine editor Terri White joining a list of respected judges from across the industry to gauge the relative merits of entries from across the category.

Liz Bales, Chief Executive, British Association for Screen Entertainment, said: “The BASE Awards continue to go from strength to strength so it’s with genuine excitement that we once again ask our colleagues from across the industry to join in celebrating another 12 months of hard work and fantastic results by submitting entries for 2018.

“The event truly is a flagship moment in the industry calendar and one that places a well-deserved spotlight on the skills and innovation powering the industry and, with the revised awards line-up and the addition of some exciting new judges able to offer a fresh perspective, albeit great category insight, we hope you’ll agree that 2018’s event is already shaping up to be a night to remember!”

The 2018 BASE Awards categories in full are as follows:

Physical Retailer of the Year

Online Physical Retailer of the Year

Digital Retailer of the Year

Digital Retailer Innovation of the Year

Physical Retailer Innovation of the Year

In-Store Theatre Initiative of the Year

Campaign of the Year for FILM – Non-theatrical

Campaign of the Year for FILM – Up to £1m Box Office

Campaign of the Year for FILM – £1m – £4.99m Box Office

Campaign of the Year for FILM – £5m – £14.99m Box Office

Campaign of the Year for FILM – Over £15m Box Office

Campaign of the Year for TV

Campaign of the Year for Special Interest *INCLUDING CHILDREN’S, SPORT, MUSIC & COMEDY*